Knife construction



Nov. 19, 1963 e. SZEKELY 3,110,964

KNIFE CONSTRUCTION Filed 001-. 12, 1962 INVENTOR 650265 .SZEKELY BY %%-M M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,11%,964 WIFE CBNSTRUCTION George Szekely, Bronx, N.Y., assign-or to General Slicing Machine (30., line, Walden, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 230,234 9 Claims. {CL Ell-283) This invention relates in general to knife construction, and in particular to a new and useful knife having a guiding element for the knife blade and to improved means for easily and accurately positioning such guiding element.

It is known to provide knives which carry guiding eleents including elongated members which are arranged parallel to the cutting'blade and with means for adjusting the positioning of the guiding element, so that it forms a ready means for aligning the knife blade for cutting slices or a chosen thickness. With prior art constructions these guiding elements are either not adjustable or they are carried by a clamping member which may be released to permit shifting of the guiding element in relation to the blade and thereafter tightening of the element in an ad justed position. A disadvantage of the stationary guiding element construction is that no adjustment may be made for varying the thickness of a slice which is cut by the blade, as determined by the spacing between the guiding element and the blade. A disadvantage of the knives having means for adjustin the position of the guiding element is that such means are difficult to operate and may be only set by careful manipulation of the guiding element after clamping screws and the like have been released. Thereafter the clamping elements must be reset after the guiding element is arranged in an adjusted position. With such constructions no means are provided for measuring the precise spacing between the guide element and the blade, and no means are provided for making ready adjustment, even when the knife is in position for cutting slices.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided an improved knife construction which includes a guiding element comprising a guide member arranged for lateral sliding movement within a lateral extension formed in the knife handle. The guiding element may be instantly and easily adjusted by a simple rotation of a knob control to move the guiding element a chosen direction within the housing formed on the knife handle and thus to adjust the spacing of the guide element in respect to the cutting blade.

A particular advantage of the construction is that the means for controlling the adjustment of the guide element is such that it may be manipulated while the knife is held in the usual hand for cutting purposes. The adjustment is such that it may be made with the opposite hand and a visual representation with a scale is provided to permit accurate positioning of the guide element.

A further feature of the present invention is the particular construction of the knife blade and the guiding element which permits the accurate alignment of the blade and also the through cutting of food stuffs, for example, such as cheese, meats, etc., without a major repositioning of the knife blade in order to effect the final cutting. With prior art devices the guiding element interfered with the complete cutting through of the material without either holding the material over an edge of a table, for example, or deflecting the knife blade downwardly at a sharp angle, so that the edge which projects beyond the guiding element may cut through the material. With the present invention, however, the guiding element has an inclined forward face which is aligned with an inclined face of the forward portion of the knife, and such inclination is made slight enough so that it is a simple matter .'i,l W36 i Patented Nov. '19, 1963 ice to cut through with the forward portion of the knife blade without changing the cutting angle appreciably.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved knife blade construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a knife blade having an elongated guiding element carried on an adjustable block element which is slidable in a lateral extension of the knife blade housing, wherein the block element is moved to adjust the spacing between the guiding element and the knife blade by simple knob control means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a knife blade construction which includes an elongated guiding element adapted to be disposed in parallel relationship with a cutting blade for the purposes of determining the spacing of a cutting blade from an edge of objects to be cut for regulating the sizes of slice thereof, the guiding element including a portion which is guidable in a lateral extension of the housing and which is controlled in its lateral adjustment by means of a control knob arranged on the opposite side of the housing, and wherein visual means are provided for indicating the spacing between the guiding element and the knife blade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a knife blade and guiding element construction which includes an elongated knife blade having an inclined forward edge and a guiding element extending approximately three quarters of the length of the knife blade from the inner end toward the tip and wherein the guiding element and the knife blade have a forward lower face which is inclined by a slight angle to permit through-cutting of the knife blade without interference by the guiding element by a slight inclination of the angle of cutting.

A further object of the invention is to provide a knife construction which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a right side elevation of a right handed knife constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan of the knife indicated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial elevation of another embodiment of a knife constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein includes a knife generally designated it; having a handle 12 with a blade generally designated 14 secured within one end of the handle.

In accordance with the invention the handle 12 is formed with a lateral extension or housing generally designated 16 which includes side walls 18 and 20 and a top 22 which extend laterally outwardly from the handie and define therein a slideway or guide -24 for a guiding portion or block 26 of a guide member generally designated 28. The guide member 28 includes a flat inner wall 30 which is adapted to be tadjustably positioned parallel to a side face .32. of the knife blade 14- for the purposes of orienting and guiding the blade for cutting slices which will be of a thickness substantially equal to the distance between the flat face 30 of the guiding member 28 and the flat face 32 of the blade 14.

A feature of the invention is the unusual construction of the guide member 28 and the knife blade 14. The

blade 14- includes a substantially straight cutting edge portion 34 which extends parallel to a top edge 36. The straight edge portion extends for about three quarters of the length of the entire blade and an oblique cutting edge portion 38 extends the remaining distance and extends obliquely between the bottom edge 34:- and the top edge 36. The guiding member 28, in turn, includes a rounded bottom portion 40 which extends downwardly in a curve and a rounded portion 42 which extends obliquely upwardly and is arranged in substantially the same plane as the cutting edge portion 38. The guiding element portion 4-2 and the cutting blade portion 38 thus are disposed along a line AB and this arrangement is unique in that it facilitates the easy cutting through of devices when a guide member such as the member 28 is employed.

The guide member 2 8 is adjusted in a manner to be set forth more fully hereinafter for the purpose of obtaining the required spacing between the faces 30 and 32 for controlling the size of slices to be cut, and a downwardly extending portion 40 is positioned to abut the end face of the article such as a loaf of bread which is to be cut. Thereafter cutting is carried out by the bottom blade surface .34 until the lowermost portion of the .guiding member 28 comes close to contacting the surface upon which the cutting is carried out. Thereupon the knife is shifted slightly so that the remaining cutting is carried out by the forward edge 38 with the knife shifted so that it is inclined by only a small angle to insure that the portion 38 does the cutting.

The guiding portion 26 of the guiding member 28 extends substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the guiding member 28 and is made either of a rectangular construction such as the element 26 in FIG. 3, or of a substantially T-shaped construction, such as the element 26 in FIG. 4. In the latter instance the lateral upper projections 2611 and 26'b are confined within suitable recesses defined in side walls 18' and defined in the lateral extension of the knife blade 12.

The upper end of the block 26 is connected to a pin or screw member 42 which extends completely through the handle 12 and is threaded into a Washer member 44 which may be rotated by a control knob 46 disposed on the opposite side of the handle from the block 26. The guide member 28 includes a fiat upper edge 48 which extends beneath a lower face 50 of the handle, so that it may be guided in sliding contact therewith. Rotation of the knob control 46 is effective to shift the block 26, and the whole guide element 28 latenally in accordance with the direction of rotation of the knob against the force of a biasing spring 52 which bears against the block member and urges it in a direction outwardly or away from thehandle 12. An accurate indication of the position of the block and hence of the spacing of the face away from the face 32 is visually indicated by a fixing pin or indicator 54- which is connected to the upper end of the block and the pin 42. The pin 54 is moved past indications or a scale 56 defined on a top wall 22. For this purpose the top Wall 22 is provided with a slot 58 along which the pin is moved.

A feature of the adjustment means which comprises the knob 46 and the threaded pin 42 is that it is arranged on an opposite side of the housing from the guide member and in a location so that it may be easily grasped by the hand which is normally free during cutting op erations. For example, a right handed persons knife is indicated, so that when the handle 12 is grasped in the right hand easy adjustment of the guide member 28 may be made with the left hand by \merely rotating the control knob 46 therewith. Since control may be effected at any and all times, it is possible to align the guide member 26 when the knife is already positioned in respect to an article such as "a loaf of bread ready for cutting. The indicator, including the pointer 54 and the scale 56 is disposed on the top portion of the handle so that it is easily readable when the adjustment is actually being carried out, and hence it is a simple matter to align the guiding element for obtaining accuracy of the control of thickness of the slices whichare to be effected.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A knife for cutting slices of selected thickness of a material comprising a handle portion and a blade portion, means defining a slide way extending laterally outwardly from one side of said knife, a guide member including a portion extending substantially parallel to said blade and extending therebelow for contact with the edge of the material to be cut, said guide member having a block portion movable in said slide way, and threaded control means extending through said knife including a control element exposed on the opposite side of said knife from said guide member connected to said guide member block portion and being movable to shift said guide member block portion in said slide way along with said guide member for varying the spacing between said guide member and said knife blade portion for changing the thickness of slices cut.

2. A knife according to claim 1, wherein said means defining a slide way includes wall portions extending outwardly from said handle portion.

3. A knife according to claim 1, wherein one of said wall portions includes a slot and an indicator member connected to said guide member block portion and extending through said slot for indicating the position of said guide member.

4. A knife according to claim 1, wherein said means defining a slide way includes walls defining a substantially rectangular housing, said guide member block portion including a substantially rectangular piece extending upwardly from said guide member portion extending parallel to said blade, said threaded control means including a threaded element connected to said block and extending through said handle, and said control element exposed on the opposite side of said knife from said guide member including a knob threadably engaging said threaded member and rotatable thereon for shifting said member and said block.

5. A knife for cutting slices of predetermined thickness of a material, comprising a handle portion and a blade portion, a slide way formed by a lateral extension of said handle, a guide member including an elongated portion having a flat side face extending substantially parallel to said blade, an upstanding block portion at one end extending into said slide way, a threaded element connected to said block portion and extending through said handle portion, a knob arranged on the opposite side of said handle portion from said guide member threaded on said threaded element and rotatable to shift said threaded element and said block with said guide member for varying the spacing between the edge of said guide member and said blade portion for varying the thickness of slices which are cut.

6. A knife according to claim 5, wherein said block member is substantially rectangular.

7. A knife according to claim 5, wherein said block member is substantially T-shaped, said slide way being similarly defined.

8. A knife according to claim 5, wherein said means defining a slide Way includes a top Wall having an open- References Cited in the file of this patent ing therein, an indicator member connected to said block, UNITED STATES PATENTS said top Wall having a slot, said indicator member being 2 134 839 Perkins Nov 1 1938 movable upon movement of said block along said slot, 2355755 Simmon; 1944 and indicator means defined along said slot. 5 2:968867 Wolff 1961 9. A knife according to claim 5, including means for n biasing said block member in a direction outwardly and FOREIGN PATENTS away from said handle portion. 10,632 Great Britain 1909 

1. A KNIFE FOR CUTTING SLICES OF SELECTED THICKNESS OF A MATERIAL COMPRISING A HANDLE PORTION AND A BLADE PORTION, MEANS DEFINING A SLIDE WAY EXTENDING LATERALLY OUTWARDLY FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID KNIFE, A GUIDE MEMBER INCLUDING A PORTION EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID BLADE AND EXTENDING THEREBELOW FOR CONTACT WITH THE EDGE OF THE MATERIAL TO BE CUT, SAID GUIDE MEMBER HAVING A BLOCK PORTION MOVABLE IN SAID SLIDE WAY, AND THREADED CONTROL MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID KNIFE INCLUDING A CONTROL ELEMENT EXPOSED ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID KNIFE FROM SAID GUIDE MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID GUIDE MEMBER BLOCK PORTION AND BEING MOVABLE TO SHIFT SAID GUIDE MEMBER BLOCK PORTION IN SAID SLIDE WAY ALONG WITH SAID GUIDE MEMBER FOR VARYING THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID GUIDE MEMBER AND SAID KNIFE BLADE PORTION FOR CHANGING THE THICKNESS OF SLICES CUT. 